One problem confronted by rescue workers is that relating to a person who has become injured at a remote location; for example, a skier or snowboarder who becomes injured while on the slopes. Conventionally, the injured person is placed onto a litter, gurney or other supporting or carrying structure. Two or more persons grip the litter frame on opposing sides thereof using their hands and arms to lift and carry the person to a hospital or other care station for treatment.
Obviously, the weight of the injured individual or other article that is being supported and carried is a concern to the rescue workers. Equally, if not more important, is the position of the injured person on the gurney, Stokes litter, backboard, rescue litter, toboggan or other support, especially if the injury involved requires the injured person to be supported in a specific manner; e.g., head being raised at a higher position than the chest. To that end, the degree to which injured persons can be carried is influenced, for example, by the surrounding terrain, such as sloped surfaces, stairwells and the like as well as the relative heights and strength of those persons who are actually lifting and carrying the supported article. With regard to injured individuals, time is often of the essence in that it is generally known that any care that can be administered within the first hour can greatly impact recovery, including stabilization of the injurious condition and transport to the next level of care.
In addition, there are also numerous and varied rescue situations involving invalid persons, those who are handicapped and unable to move without assistance from others, and/or those confined to wheelchairs or walkers. For example and during the events of Sep. 11, 2001, numerous injured individuals remained trapped within the confines of buildings without power, necessitating the removal of those individuals along stairwells in extremely hazardous conditions.
Known supporting devices, such as those described by Knight in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,286,740 and 4,087,030, permit a supported article to be lifted by four (4) individuals. Each of the individuals according to these references wears a rigid backpack frame, wherein a pair of horizontal bars extend transversely relative to the axis of the litter. These bars are supported by the backpack frame at the rear thereof. The foregoing assembly provides adequate support for a litter and enables “hands-free” operation while an injured person is supported and carried using the apparatus. The apparatus provides adjustability when a litter is initially lifted, but further dynamic adjustments cannot be performed, to adjust for varying terrain, for example, by the individuals who are actually carrying the litter. Therefore, all future adjustments must be made by first lowering and disconnecting the litter and then adjusting the height of at least one of the horizontal bars or by having the adjustments made by a fifth individual who is not wearing the apparatus. Variations of the foregoing apparatus design are shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,793. In this version, a motorized winch mechanism is attached to the side of the rigid backpack frames and used to selectively lift the horizontal bar. The frames and associated winch mechanism herein described, however, are relatively bulky and rigid and the support mechanism is specifically designed to carry and maintain only one type of supported article (e.g., the litter), while still requiring use by four or more individuals.